Look! Look! Look!

Just after I got home from my haircut this afternoon I glanced out the patio door and look at what I saw. It's a male Ruby-throated Hummingbird visiting my nectar feeder. I was so excited. I fumbled up the camera and, as soon as I lifted it to focus, the Hummingbird flew away. *sigh* But I was lucky enough to see it when it came back and stayed long enough for me to take two pictures, one blurry and one in focus. Ah. It's really a male. I could see his red throat even though it didn't show up on the photo. Thanks, GBB, for motivating me to hang the feeder again.

 

Speaking of my haircut, my stylist was running late so I had to sit and chat with her and her client. I happened to mention that I write books and the client's eyes lit up and she asked what genre. When I told her about them she asked if I had any with me. Well, of course I have them all in my car so I went out to get one of each. I brought them in and told her about each story. She held them as if I'd given her gold bars and said, "I'll take them." "All of them?" "Yes, how much? I have cash." She was so excited to get them, excited that they were signed, and she started reading The Seaview while she waited for her color to set. And my stylist asked me to bring in another set to put on the shelf by her chair and write the price in the front of each book in pencil so she can show them off to her other clients. Wow! There are no pictures of that exciting and amazing occurrence. 

 

Today's drawing is a Blue Heron. It's okay. Not my best effort but I'll draw it again and it'll be better. I missed erasing a line on the edge of the wing so the body doesn't look right but I'll fix that on the next one. I didn't notice the extra line until after I inked the lines and couldn't erase it. Like I said, the next one will be better.

 

The other night I cast on Scrap Hat #4 and added a few rounds tonight so there's enough to make a decent picture. I've been using small scraps for two of the five yarns I'm carrying and I like the way the colors change around the blue chunky and white worsted yarns. I'm having fun making these hats. They're way too heavy for summer chemo hats. Maybe I'll do a cottony one next with only a couple strands of yarn.

 

The baby bunny was around again today. It blended right into the edge of the patio but then hopped onto the grass to eat a weed. It stood out then so I took its picture.

 

I can't forget to load my car before I go to bed tonight because I've got a show tomorrow from 10-2 at a senior living apartment building's Spring Craft Show. I was invited to participate. A friend lives there so it'll be fun to see her in person because I mostly just see her on Zoom on Friday nights. Maybe the crew of older people like to read and will buy books. Fingers crossed.

--Barbara

Here, Birdie, Birdie, Birdie

I got a text this afternoon from GBB that there was a Hummingbird at their feeder. I wasn't sure I was going to put the feeder out this year but seeing one at a friend's feeder motivated me to mix up some nectar and hang mine out and see what happens. The white, dome shaped thing hanging above it is filled with water and keeps ants from climbing up the crook and getting to the nectar.

 

Guess which bird I drew today. A Hummingbird, of course. I know I've drawn one before but putting out the feeder made me want to draw it again. 

 

DS texted this morning that he was brewing and did I want to visit. Of course, I did. He was making their summer sour which doesn't sound all that enticing but he's excited about it. He's adding 10 lbs. of dried hibiscus flowers, a pound and a half of ground coriander seeds, and some lime zest. He searched all the Hispanic groceries in town to buy all of the hibiscus he could find. In this picture he's using a little spice grinder to pulverize the coriander seeds a little. It smelled really good in there.

 

I went over to the lilac bush to take a picture of the flower buds and one was starting to open. There's hardly any leaves yet, but there are a lot of buds. Can't wait until they all open.

 

And there are two or three flowers on the forsythia too. This may be a sparse year for forsythia blooms but I'm glad to see a few. I'll keep an eye on it. Maybe more will show up.

 

Last Friday on May 1 a BookFunnel promo I'm a part of started. If you follow this link, you can download a FREE copy of my novel, Horizon, just for signing up for my newsletter. There are nine other free books on offer too. Get all ten for no money! All you have to do it sign up for newsletters. The promo runs until May 30 so get over there and check it out.

This afternoon I got a text from one of my knitting friends. She sent a picture of the four books of mine that she owns and asked for one each of the ones she didn't have. !!!! We met to eat and (not) knit tonight so I took them along and she brought money. AND she's ordering one of each title to send to a friend in Utah. Holy crap! That's very cool. 

It's late and I need to finish this and hit the sack. I'm tired. I spent a lot of today listening to audiobook files and reading along in a book to make sure the recording is correct. It's tiring. 

--Barbara 

Three Birds

Usually Sparrows don't tolerate sharing the feeder with each other or any other birds but this morning there were three different birds on the square green feeder at the same time. On the left is a White-crowned Sparrow, on the right in front is a House Finch, and behind it is a regular Sparrow. And they aren't squabbling. Amazing.

 

It was lucky that I wasn't yog-ing when the birds were cooperating or I wouldn't have gotten the picture. I have mixed feelings about doing yoga. My balance is much better and I like the way I feel having done it but struggle with motivating myself to do it every day except Sunday.

 

I spent much of the day listening to Anneke's Legacy audiobook chapter files. I listened to eight so far, only 29 more to go. Sometimes I wish I wasn't so wordy. Luckily, there are only a few changes that need to be made so far, mostly mispronunciations so I have to figure out how to write them out for SW so she understands. I'm getting it.

 

It was my turn to do the after school run so I got to see LC and OJ for a few minutes this afternoon. OJ runs to the car which greatly irritates LC. I know why. For her, when Dad says "walk to Meemaw's car" that means no running. For OJ, irritating his sister is a very good reason to run. I remember when I had bratty little brothers. They're very frustrating.

Tonight at Writers Guild, GBB and I did a program about critiquing that really went over well. Everyone listened and had a lot to contribute. We were a success!

--Barbara 

The Last Daffodil

There's really only one daffodil that isn't shriveling up and turning brown and it's this one. I love it when they pop out with their yellow cheerfulness but they don't last long enough for me. They could last another week or so, I wouldn't mind.

 

Behind this daffodil and it's accompanying grape hyacinths are five or six tulip buds waiting to open. The tallest one is pink. I'm not a fan of pink but I am a fan of tulips. It balances out.

 

The bleeding hearts are getting taller and spreading out. They'll be the next flowers in the yard after the tulips and maybe at the same time as the lilies of the valley.

 

I took a walk this evening up to the stop sign and back. The "and back" part is very important since it's boring at the stop sign. Nothing really happens there and the only fun person near there is Miss Judy who lives almost at the corner.

 

Today's drawing is a Swan. I like it. I especially like the water since most of the time the water I draw doesn't look right but this water looks the way I wanted it to.

 

Not many birds showed up today. These Sparrows spent a little time on the square green feeder but most of the day it was so windy that the birds didn't fly around much.  

 

 

Tonight's sunset was beautiful and also behind the neighbor's house so all I could take a picture of was the side of my house, the side of their house, and the tree. You can see the pretty in between.

 

The lawn mowing guy came today while I was on Zoom with cda so I didn't get a picture. The only way I knew he was here was the clank of the tailgate ramp thingy and the roar of the mower.

Did you know that today is Star Wars Day? It's May the Fourth, so May the Force be with you!  Sorry, I couldn't resist.

--Barbara 

More Sprouting Things

I went out to refill the birdbath this morning and saw that the peonies have sprouted a whole lot. They don't have leaves or flowers yet, of course, but they're up and making progress. I like that they're maroon. It's probably not because these are dark pink peonies but it might be. Although I don't think the white ones come up with white sprouts. That would be silly.

 

Nearby, the lilies of the valley are making their appearance. They've migrated out of the flower bed and into the ground next to the patio. I kept trying to corral the autumn leaves but when it's windy they return.

 

And a furry sprout appeared from under the patio step this evening. A baby bunny was exploring around behind the Weber and under the step. It held still for just a moment so I could take its picture.

 

Look at the rhubarb! I'm definitely going to cut some this week and cook up a pan full of sauce. My morning yogurt will be so happy.

 

I waited and waited for this Robin to move out from behind the Slinkies and this is the best I could do. It stubbornly stayed behind them pecking away and finally finally it moved so that the front half of it was visible. Thank you, bird.

 

Two red tulips have opened up on the retaining wall. There's another one further down tangled in lily leaves but these two are out there, brazenly shouting that it's spring and is tulip time.

 

Today's drawing is an Orca. My black colored pencil didn't color as black as I'd hoped but I didn't want to press too hard to wear it down too much.

 

While the dishwasher ran, I pullout the gratitude journal sketchbook and drew a page. I spent most of the day on the computer, first working through the pages for tomorrow's critique Zoom, and then going through chapters of my manuscript working to make it better. I'm trying to weave the antagonist or thoughts of her through more of the story and to beef up a couple more critical sections.  This is definitely not the last time I'll go through it.

 

I put out fresh towels and ran the dishwasher and think that's enough housework for one day.

--Barbara 

Whew

Today was the Lakefly Writing Conference Book Fair in Oshkosh. GBB drove LW, EMB, and me down and back. We were able to cram all of our books, display items, and conveyances into the back of her vehicle and ride down in comfort. I was afraid that my zero sales from last time would repeat but happily it didn't. I sold four books much to my immense relief. It wasn't until I was setting up my display that I realized the tables were narrower than I was used to. I don't know how much narrower, but it was appreciable and made for some awkward moments when I was trying to point to my books.

 

Leaving home before 7AM and not getting home until after 4PM left little day for wildlife observations or yard touring so all I have is a drawing of a Birdcage. Happily, the cage has a bird. A bluebird. The lines of the birdcage aren't always smooth and straight but it's okay. I'm not unhappy with it. In fact, I like the way it turned out.

 

Thank heavens for GPS. I could get to GBB's neighborhood from memory but once I turned off the main street, I was lost. Same with getting out of it to come home. Thank you, GPS.

I checked on BookFunnel to see how Horizon is doing in the Newsletter promo. If you sign up for my newsletter you can download a free digital copy of the novel. So far six have been claimed in two days. Not bad. 

Tomorrow I have one task and that is to critique cda's pages for Monday. I'll try to take a picture of a bird and maybe one of the remaining daffodils. I don't think it's supposed to be raining tomorrow. Maybe I'll even manage to take a walk.

--Barbara 

All Ready

I gathered up all of my book fair stuff, put it into the wayback of my vehicle, and drove over to GBB's house to put it into her vehicle. She's driving us to Oshkosh tomorrow and we're leaving early so it was easier to have it all loaded today so all we have to do is drive away. I even remembered to pack my water bottle. (I usually forget it in the car and have to go out to get it.)

 

Look what I saw this morning! It's a Downy Woodpecker! It has been months since I've seen a woodpecker and I was so excited. You can kind of tell that it was looking away and just after I snapped the picture it flew off. But I was quick enough.

 

Today's drawing is a Pig. I didn't have much time to draw today and this looked simple and easy to draw. And it was. I didn't color it pink because the only pink colored pencil I have is too cotton candy pink for a pig.

 

At Friday Night Knitting I finished Scrap Hat #3. I like it. I was going to knit on my sweater but when I pulled it out the other day to measure how much more front I needed to knit it looked like I've done something wrong. I didn't have the time or the inclination to figure out where it went wrong so I put it away again. It's in timeout until it learns to behave.

 

I spent a lot of manuscript time today. I got through another chapter scrolling back and forth trying to boost the conflict and sensory details. If I do one chapter at a time it isn't so daunting. On Sunday I have to do the critique for Monday's session with cda. I was going to work on it today but time got away from me. I have nothing to do on Sunday so that's what I'll do. Cross my heart.

--Barbara